Gas prices in South Korea have continued to rise as oil prices hit a seven-year high amid the global economic recovery, data showed Monday. The average gasoline price nationwide stood at 1,724.7 won ($1.45) per liter Monday, marking the highest since December 2014, according to the data compiled by the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC). The gas price in Seoul topped the 1,800 won-level per liter in the day, the data showed. Market watchers said the gas prices may climb further as glob

SEONGNAM -- South Korea will kick off a biennial defense exhibition this week to showcase cutting-edge military hardware and technologies, including stealth fighters, hydrogen-fuel drones and laser weapons, organizers said Monday. The Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) will begin its five-day run on Tuesday at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, as the security landscape in Northeast Asia is fraught with uncertainties stemming from a muscle-flexing China

South Korean stocks retreated Monday as investors attempted to cash in gains from the key stock index's three-day advance. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) lost 8.38 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 3,006.68 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 912 million shares worth some 10.5 trillion won ($8.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 429 to 413. Foreigners bought a net 38 billion won, while institutions sold 4

Police and fire officials searched the National Assembly complex in Seoul on Monday after a lawmaker's office received a bomb threat by phone, officials said Monday. According to police and parliament officials, an unidentified person made the call around 2 p.m., saying an explosive has been placed somewhere at the complex and a secretary of the lawmaker's office alerted security personnel there about the call. Dozens of firefighters and police officers, along with a bomb squad and 10 fire tr

Former Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Monday met with the chief of an umbrella labor union and asked for support for her bid to become the next director general of the International Labour Organization (ILO). "I decided to run for the seat because I thought the experiences, career and the international network I have reasonably match the leadership credentials demanded by ILO," Kang said during her meeting with Kim Dong-myung, chief of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions. &quo

South Korea will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from the 2018 levels by 2030, sharply raising its previous goal as part of efforts to curb the pace of climate change, President Moon Jae-in said Monday. Moon also confirmed that South Korea will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as the nation started tackling the challenge of responding to climate change and attaining sustainable growth simultaneously. The goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions was sharply raised from 26.3

The gender ministry said Monday it will begin a pilot service this week that allows citizens to search where convicted sex offenders live using internet portal operator Naver Corp.'s map app. The pilot service, which uses the Naver map to display actual home addresses of sex offenders listed in the government's registry system (www.sexoffender.go.kr), will run from Tuesday to the end of this month before the official launch, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The service

A top US military official called Monday for strong space cooperation with South Korea, stressing credible deterrence in the "contested" security domain comes from a robust partnership based on "mutual trust and shared values." Gen. Jay Raymond, the chief of Space Operations at the United Nations Space Force, made the call during a security forum in Seoul, as a Sino-US competition is intensifying with Beijing pushing to become a major space power. "A key part of credib

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Monday it has signed a 416 billion-won ($350.4 million) deal to build two container carriers. Under the deal with a shipping company in the Marshall Islands, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co. will build the vessels and deliver them by April 2024, the shipbuilding holding company said in a regulatory filing. KSOE, the subholding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH), has three shipbuilders -- Hyundai Heavy Industries

South Korean Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Park In-ho met with a delegation of senior US military and defense officials in Seoul on Monday to discuss bilateral cooperation ahead of a biennial defense exhibition later this week, his office said. The talks with the US delegation, including Heidi H. Grant, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, and DeAnna M. Burt, deputy commander of the Space Operations Command, came a day before the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhib

South Korea has expressed concern over the new Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's plan to release radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean, Seoul officials said Monday. Kishida on Sunday visited the tsunami-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant and said the planned disposal of wastewater stored in the facility cannot be delayed, sticking to his predecessor's plan to discharge the water into the sea beginning in 2023. "Japan's decision (to discharge the

President Moon Jae-in on Monday ordered officials to swiftly set up a plan to provide booster shots for people who received Johnson & Johnson's one-dose vaccines. Moon's remarks came as a study showed COVID-19 protection from J&J's Janssen is weakening after a certain period of vaccination, according to presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Moon also instructed officials to come up with plans for patient transportation as the nation is preparing for gradually returning to normal

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Monday that it has signed a $1.7 billion order to provide design, parts and blocks for seven shuttle tankers. Under the deal with a company in Eurasia, Samsung Heavy Industries will supply design, parts and blocks for the vessels by January, 2027, the company said in a regulatory filing. Shuttle tankers refer to oil tankers plying between offshore oilfields and oil plants on land to transport crude. With the latest order, the shipbuilder has won a combined $1

Around 100 South Korean and Swedish maritime officials and experts will gather this week for a forum to explore ways to curb illegal fishing, South Korea's oceans ministry said Monday. During the four-day forum set to kick off Tuesday, officials from the governments and major international organizations, such as the International Maritime Organization and the Food and Agricultural Organization, and maritime experts will discuss ways to better implement international agreements on illegal, unrep

Big Hit Music, the K-pop agency behind BTS and Tomorrow X Together, said Monday it will throw a global audition to launch a next-generation boy band. Any males born after 2002 can apply from Monday through Dec. 20 regardless of their nationality and country of residence, according to the agency. Applicants are required to send a video of themselves singing, rapping and dancing along with their frontal photo to the audition website at bighitaudition.com. The video should be at least longer than